Hank of strand material



Sept. 20, 1932. R Kq Wl-"TTlER 1,878,306

HANK OF STRAND MATERIAL `Filed Feb. 25, 1951 Patented Sept. 20, 1932 UNITED `STATES, PATENT oFFicE ROGER K. WHITTIER, OF CHATTAHOOCI-IEE, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR TO SILVER LAKE COMPANY,` OF NEWTONVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION F MASSA- CHUSETTS HANK OF STRAND IVIA'JJERIAL Application filed February 25, 1931. Serial No. 518,064.-

My invention relates to wrapped skeins or hanks of strand material, for example, rope, cord, tape, fine wire, and the like, and more particularly to a novel and eiiicient tubular wrapper easily applied which will not only hold the full skein or hank, but will hold it while and after portions of the strand material are removed.

In the standard practice of preparing banks of cord and other strand material for retail sale a fixed length of strand material is arranged in a skein or hank made by forming a. plurality of loops between two hooks which hold the respectively opposite looped ends. When the desired number of loops have been placed between the hooks it is customary to secure the hank in one of two ways. In the irst method, the operator makes a tight halfhitch about the hank a short distance from one of the hooks and then winds the free cord helically about the hank to a point equidistant from the opposite hook, where hemakes a second half-hitch which holds the helical winding in place. Because of the necessity of making half-hitches at either end of the helical winding on each hank it is impracticable to prepare more than two connected hanks by this method. A second method is also in use in which instead of the helical Winding a tubular paper wrapper is placed around the hank to hold it. Byv this method any number of connected hanks may be successively wrapped. l A

When a retailer or consumer wishes to sell or use less than the length of strand material contained in one hank the helical winding or the paper wrapper, as the case may be, must be undone to allow removal of the desired amount of material. Inzeither case the remaining loops of strand material become confused and kinked with nothing to hold them in hank form. Thus unless it is desired to use the exact length of strand material in one hank, or a multiple thereof, the common methods of wrapping are unsatisfactory.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a 'tubular wrapper for hanks of strand material which allows the retailer or the consumer to withdraw from a permanently wrapped hank any desired quantity of the strand material without disturbing or releasing the remainder of the hank. A further object is to provide a quicker, less cumbersome and cheaper method of wrapping hanks of strand material. A further object is to provide a method whereby any desired continuous length of strand material may be Wrapped for marketing in a connected series of hanks. A further Objectis to provide a method of wrapping whereby the exact desired lengt-h' of cord may be placed in each hank therebyV 'eliminating the waste of several feet which is prevalent in the old method of wrapping because of the helical winding. Y Other objects reside in the improved structural features of the device hereinafter described as claims. H o A recommended embodiment of the invention is illustra-ted in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a diagrammatic illustration of several connected hanks each'of which is equipped with the improved tubular wrap- Per; Fig. 2 isa front elevation on a larger scale of oneo the hanks of Fig. l;

Fig. isan enlarged section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; F Fig 4 is a section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 5 is a'plan view of an improved wrapper before application of the hank; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sect-ion ytaken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

The particular embodiment of the invention chosen for the purposes of illustration comprises a strip or sheet of paper or other suitable material 1 having its opposite edges 3- reinforced by a piece of twine, string or other material 4, and a gummed tongue 2 for securing the wrapper in its tubular position about the hank of strand material. The string or other reinforcing material 4 may be secured along the edges 3 by a fold or hem 6 glued or otherwise secured as shown in Fig. 6.'

In arranging the strand material in hanks,

kit is recommended that the elongate loops of each hank be arranged in successive layers pointed out in the'appended GTI substantially as shown in Fig. 3, the initial or innermost layer comprising loops a-a to @#0, the second layer comprising loo-ps cZ-(Z to e-e, the third layer comprising loops g-g to f--f and the fourth layer comprising loops L-h to c-k, successive loops progrossing in opposite directions in succeeding layers. The linal loop c-c will thus be in tbe outer layer of each bank, and in forming theV next succeeding'bank the connecting strand layer of loops of the. first bank to the inner layer of loops of the following bank, as shown in Fig. l. It should-be understood that each layer of loops need not contain the same number of loops as the preceding layer, as will be noted by the variance between the layers in Figs. 3 and 4. The numt berof layers is also optional, and may be varied according to the length of strand material desired to be placed in each bank. l

In one method of applying the improved Wrapper to a skein or hankof strand material, the end 7 is inserted transversely through the inner loops of the bank from point 9 to point 8 in Fig. 3 and thence wound partially around the bank (for example to the position shown in Fig. 3), theremainder of the wrapper lis then wound beginning at the point 9 around the bank over the end 7, preferably winding in the same direction as the end 7, and then the tongue 2 is glued in place, completing the operation.

One function of the transversely placed section of the Wrapper as shown in Fig. 3 is to prevent the accidental or premature witbdrawal of any of the loops of the strand material. Another purpose of said transverse portion is to facilitate drawing the wrapper snugly about the bank. Y

When the first loop of tbe strand material (rt-a in Figs. 2, 3 and 4),` is withdrawn by pulling the free end 10 in the directio-n indicated by the arrow 5, this loop tears through the transverse portion of the wrapper at the point 8 (Fig. 4) at the sametime` usually withdrawing from each bemY a short section 7 8 of thestring 4. Other succeeding loops b-b, etc., may thereafter be withdrawn with ease until the` desired length of strand material has been removed and cut oft', leaving the improved wrapper still in place holding the remainder of the bank. The elasticity of the strand material gives its end loops 11 a tendency to expand so that although a large part of the material may be withdrawn from the holding sleeve said end loops 11 engage the edges of thewrapper tube 3 and thus the remaining loops remain substantially in place within the wrapper.

A tubular wrapper constructed and applied in the manner described abo-ve provides an economical and easily applied wrapper for skeins or banks of strand material and the like, wbichallowsssegments of the 12 will extend from the outer skein or bank to be withdrawn without disturbing or kinkin g the remainder of the bank.

lt should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appendedu claims. For example, the reinforcing material 4 may be omitted from the edges of tbe transversely placed section of the wrapper so as to facilitate tbewithdrawal of the first loop a-a. rlbe edges of the wrapper may be reinforced by the use of other materials and in other ways, for example by gluing strips of paper, cloth or other flexible material along the longitudinal edges of tbe wrapper 3 in place of the string 4 which' is shown in the drawing- I claim:

l. An article of tbe character referred to comprising a length of strand material bent back and forth in tbe form of a bank and means for holding the material in position including a strip of sheet material extending diametrically through tbe bank.

2. An article of the character referred to `comprising a length of strand material formed in a series of banks each comprising a/series of elongate loops wound in layers with succeeding loops progressing in opposite Vdirections in successive layers, and means for holding the loops of each bank in Ysaid relation, the portion of tbe strand connecting one bank with the next succeeding hank extending from the outer layer of the first bank to the inner layer of the next bank.

3. An article of the character referred to comprising a length of strand material formed in a series of banks each comprising 'a series of elongate loops arranged in successive layers, and a wrapper lencircling the loops of each bank so that any number 0f loops maybe withdrawn by pulling on one end of a loop of the inner'layer of the bank 'without substantially disarranging the remaining loops of the bank.

4. A bank comprising a length of strand material wound in a series of elongate loops and a band of material having an intermediate portion extending through the individual loops and end portions wound around the loops.

5. A bank comprising a length of strand material wound in a series of elongate loops Vand a bandl wound transversely around the loops with a portion of the band extending ,f through tbeindividual loops, said portion comprising fibrous material which can be torn transversely of the band by pulling a loop endwise from the bank.

6. A package of the class described comprising a bank of strand material and a sheet of flexible material, the initial end of said sheet inserted transversely through the inner loops of the bank intermediate its ends and tbe remainder of said sheet circumposed about tbe bank, said sbeet being reinforced at its opposite edges to prevent tearing of the circumferential parts When tbe strand material is Withdrawn longitudinally from the bank.

7. A package of tbe class described comprising a bank of strand material and a sheet of flexible material, one end of said sheet being inserted transversely through tbe bank intermediate its ends and extended partially around tbe bank, and tbe remainder of said sbeet circumposed about tbe bank, said sbeet being reinforced at its opposite edges to prevent tearing of tbe circumferential parts When tbe strand material is Withdrawn longitudinally from tbe bank.

8. A package of tbe class described comprising a bank of strand material and a sbeet of flexible material, one end of said sbeet being inserted transversely tbrougb tbe inner loops of tbe bank and extended partially around tbe bank intermediatel its ends, tbe remainder of said sbeet circumposed about tbe bank in tbe same direction as the initial end of said sbeet.

9. A package of tbe class described comprising a bank of strand material and a sheet of flexible material, one end of said sbeet being inserted transversely tbrougb certain loops of tbe bank intermediate its ends and extended partially around tbe bank, tbe remainder of said sbeet circumposed about tbe bank in tbe same direction as tbe initial end 3F of said sbeet, tbe circumferential portion of said sheet being reinforced along its op osite edges to prevent tearing of tbe circum erential parts Wben tbe strand material is Witbdrawn longitudinally from tbe bank.

4 0 Signed by Ine at Chattahoochee, Georgia,

this 18th day of February 1931.

ROGER `K. WHITTIER. 

